This is my first project posting.  I’m a hobbyist, a big fan of period furniture, and like challenging projects so when I happened on a large, inexpensive lot of walnut at an auction, a Gaines chair was the first thing came to mind.  It’s not my first chair but it’s certainly been the most complex and difficult one I’ve made. 

The chair is based on the drawings in Norman Vandal’s Queen Anne Furniture: History, design and construction (Tauton Press, 1990) but incorporates an altered top vase design on the front legs and uses walnut as the primary wood instead of the traditional painted maple/poplar.  The alterations are true to the period but may or may not have been used by the Gaines family.  

It is made from a single slab of walnut that included a nice section of crotch wood that was used for the center splat.  The most difficult part of the project for me was the compound angles in the joinery and weaving the rush seat bottom.  In total, it took about 30 hours to make full scale drawings and patterns and another 160 hours to complete the chair.  The finish is tung oil and wax.  I learned lots and had a great time making it.  I hope you enjoy.       

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